Human Nature Explains it All

As you know, we have Barry for another four years. A majority of the voting majority did something I didn’t expect: they combined their general dislike for Mitt Romney with their genuine liking of Obama, and on these bases alone, decided to completely ignore the last four years. This selective amnesia is especially pertinent with respect to the economy. We know it was terrible before the election, and not surprisingly, it remains terrible today. Now that we have the election behind us, we can scan the landscape and evaluate the aftermath.

70.4 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid for fiscal year 2011. That’s about 20% of the total population, or 1 out of 5 people. That’s an incredible number when you consider Medicaid exists only for the poor. Obamacare, which becomes fully dysfunctional in 2014, will add even more people to the roll because it expands the po0l of people who qualify. The left will argue these figures support its call for more government. I’m here to tell you that more people on Medicaid is bad, and the only way to get people off of it is to improve the economy, and get them working again. So far, the response to Barry’s re-election by the private sector has not been good, although it has been expected.

Obama’s environmental regulations are certainly having an effect on the coal industry, which should surprise no one, since Barry himself said four years ago that his goal was to make coal-created energy so expensive that no one would/could use it. Well, elections have consequences:

EAST CARBON, Carbon County — A Utah coal company owned by a vocal critic of President Barack Obama has laid off 102 miners.

The layoffs at the West Ridge Mine are effective immediately, according to UtahAmerican Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corp. They were announced in a short statement made public Thursday, two days after Obama won re-election.

OWATONNA, Minn. – Some unwelcome economic news hit Owatonna Thursday with word that Caterpillar Inc. will close its plant in Owatonna, a move that will cost the community about 100 jobs.

Caterpillar Inc. notified employees Thursday it is closing the plant and consolidating operations within its forestry business. Production will end at the Owatonna facility by March 1, 2013. Caterpillar is offering employees at Owatonna a severance package and will work with appropriate agencies on finding those workers new opportunities.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — TE Connectivity will close its Greensboro plant by the end of next year, resulting in 620 layoffs.

Glenn Beck has a list of job losses announced since America rolled the dice on four more years of Barry here. A second list, which includes the companies planning layoffs specifically because of Obamacare is found here.

Maybe all of this is just coincidence. I suppose it’s possible. On the other hand, maybe we actually are just a nation of takers. For example, Illinois, a state that has currently $28 billion in general-obligation debt, with an additional $84 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, just decided to not only re-elect the Dems who set off the debt bomb, but actually increased the size of the Democratic majority in the legislature so that it is now veto-proof, thanks largely to re-districting. And then there’s California, with its own $617 billion in unfunded liabilities. Instead of cutting spending, Californians decided to raise taxes on high wage earners. It seems many are satisfied with the status quo.

All of this seems very confusing to some people. How could anyone re-elect Obama? Look at the economy. Look at the unemployed. Look at the number of people who are on food stamps. It’s like pinch-hitting a guy who bats .078 against lefties in the bottom of the ninth against the other team’s closer…who’s a southpaw. You can make a pretty good guess about the result based upon prior occurrences.

The thing is, it’s not confusing if you understand human nature (re-electing Obama, not the baseball analogy). Obama’s an affable guy who gives good speeches. People also trust him for reasons I have yet to comprehend. But people are also lazy. And if someone is given the opportunity to not work, while still being able to live a satisfactory life, that person is probably not going to work. We’re making it too easy for people to not work. It’s one thing to not have a job. It’s another thing to not have one for years. It’s another thing entirely to not even be looking for one. And there are jobs out there…I see help wanted signs all over the place. They’re for cashier positions and the like, but they’re jobs all the same. We shouldn’t be paying people to sit at home when they could be working, but we are.

Government assistance is beneficial right up until the point that it isn’t. Large segments of the population don’t recognize the dividing line, and as a result, re-elected a guy who doesn’t think such a line exists. Companies can’t create jobs when the government is openly attacking their ability to thrive. People won’t work if they don’t have to. These two facts will hamstring any recovery over the next four years if our government continues to institute policies like those of the last four. A closing quote from a guy at a Chicago job fair (who unquestionably voted for Barry):

Rodney Booker said, ‘I stood in line for four hours. They better give me a Wal-Mart gift card, or something.’